[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 2, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15972-15973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-8147]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

37 CFR Part 201

[Docket No. RM 2002-4C]


Notice of Public Hearings: Exemption to Prohibition on 
Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control 
Technologies

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Notice of Public Hearings in Los Angeles, CA.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress will be 
holding two days of public hearings in Los Angeles, California on the 
possible exemptions to the prohibition against circumvention of 
technological measures that control access to copyrighted works and is 
extending the due date for requests to testify in California.

DATES: Public hearings will be held at the UCLA School of Law on May 14 
and 15, 2003, beginning at 9 a.m. Requests to testify for these 
California hearings must be received by 5 p.m. E.S.T. on April 8, 2003. 
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information on other 
requirements.

ADDRESSES: The Los Angeles, California round of public hearings will be 
held on May 14 and 15, 2003 in the Moot Court Room, Room 1310, of the 
UCLA School of Law, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional address information and other 
requirements.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob Kasunic, Senior Attorney, Office 
of the General Counsel, Copyright GC/I&R, PO Box 70400, Southwest 
Station, Washington, DC 20024. Telephone (202) 707-8380; fax (202) 707-
8366. Requests to testify must be sent by email to [email protected]. Email 
inquiries regarding the hearings may be sent to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 15, 2002, the Copyright Office 
published a Notice of Inquiry seeking comments in connection with a 
rulemaking pursuant to section 1201(a)(1) of the Copyright Act, 17 
U.S.C. 1201(a)(1), which provides that the Librarian of Congress may 
exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against 
circumventing a technological measure that controls access to a 
copyrighted work. For a more complete statement of the background and 
purpose of the rulemaking, please see the Notice of Inquiry and the 
full record of the previous rulemaking proceeding available on the 
Copyright Office's Web site at: http://www.copyright. gov/1201/.
    On March 20, 2003, the Copyright Office announced that it would be 
holding public hearings relating to the rulemaking in Washington DC on 
April 11, April 15, April 30, and May 2, 2003, and that public hearings 
would subsequently be held in California in May, on dates and at a 
location to be announced later. 68 FR 13652 (March 20, 2003).
    The Copyright Office is now announcing that the California hearings 
will be conducted on May 14 and 15, 2003 to hear testimony relating to 
the rulemaking. The hearings will be conducted in Room 1310 at the UCLA 
School of Law, located at 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, California.
    The March 20 notice invited interested parties to submit requests 
to testify at one of these hearings. Requests were to be submitted no 
later than April 1, 2003. Given the timing of this announcement on the 
precise dates and location of the California hearings, the Copyright 
Office is extending the due date for requests to testify at the Los 
Angeles, CA hearings only until 5 p.m., E.S.T., April 8, 2003.

Requirements for Persons Desiring To Testify

    A request to testify must be submitted to the Copyright Office. All 
requests to testify must clearly identify:
    [sbull] The name of the person desiring to testify,
    [sbull] The organization or organizations represented, if any,
    [sbull] Contact information (address, telephone, and email),
    [sbull] The class of work to which your testimony is responsive (if 
you wish to testify on more than one proposed class of work, please 
state your order of preference),\1\
    [sbull] A brief summary of your proposed testimony,
    [sbull] A description of any audiovisual material or demonstrative 
evidence, if any, that you intend to present,
    [sbull] Preferences as to dates on which you wish to testify. Note: 
Because the agenda will be organized based on subject matter, we cannot 
guarantee that we can accommodate requests to testify on particular 
dates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The 51 written comments proposing classes of works to be 
exempted and the 338 reply comments have been posted on the Office's 
Web site; see[chyph]http://www.copyright.gov/1201/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Copyright Office notes that it has already received many 
requests to testify that have not complied with

[[Page 15973]]

these requirements, particularly the requirement to identify the class 
of work to which the testimony is responsive. Requests to testify that 
do not conform to these requirements will not be considered, since the 
hearing sessions will be structured around particular or related 
proposed classes of works to be exempted. Persons who submit a timely 
request to testify will receive a response by email or telephone by 
April 14, 2003. The Copyright Office will notify all witnesses of the 
date and expected time of their appearance, and the time allocated for 
their testimony.
    At the UCLA School of Law, only limited on-site parking will be 
available for participants and the public. Persons wishing to attend 
the hearings are encouraged to make alternative transportation plans or 
to park in commercial parking lots located near UCLA. The Office will 
post additional information on parking at UCLA on the Copyright 
Office's Web site at http://www.copyright.gov/1201/.

Addresses for Requests to Testify

    All requests to testify must be sent by email to [email protected] and 
must be received by 5 E.S.T. on April 8, 2003. Persons who are unable 
to send requests by email should contact Rob Kasunic, Senior Attorney, 
at (202) 707-8380 to make alternative arrangements for submission of 
their requests to testify.

Form and Limits on Testimony at Public Hearings

    There will be time limits on the testimony allowed for persons 
testifying that will be established after receiving all requests to 
testify. In the written comment period, the Office received nearly 400 
written comments. Given the time constraints, only a fraction of that 
number could possibly testify at the hearings. A timely request to 
testify does not guarantee an opportunity to testify at these hearings. 
The Copyright Office encourages parties with similar interests to 
select common representatives to testify on behalf of a particular 
position.
    The Copyright Office stresses that factual arguments are at least 
as important as legal arguments and encourages persons who wish to 
testify to provide demonstrative evidence to supplement their 
testimony. While testimony from attorneys who can articulate legal 
arguments in support of or opposition to a proposed exempted class of 
works is useful, testimony from witnesses who can explain and 
demonstrate the facts is also solicited. Any electronic or audiovisual 
equipment necessary for a presentation or demonstration at these 
California hearings should be brought by the person testifying.
    The Office intends to organize individual sessions of the hearings 
around particular or related classes of works proposed for exemption. 
If a request to testify involves more than one proposed exemption or 
related exemption, please specify, in order of preference, the proposed 
exemptions on which you would prefer to testify.
    Following receipt of the requests to testify, the Copyright Office 
will inform all parties requesting to testify whether they have been 
accepted. The Copyright Office will also prepare an agenda of the 
hearings which will be posted on the Copyright Office Web site at 
http://www.copyright.gov/1201/ and sent to persons who have been 
accepted to testify. To facilitate this process, it is essential that 
all of the required information listed above be included in a request 
to testify.

    Dated: March 31, 2003.
David O. Carson,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 03-8147 Filed 4-1-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-31-P